


Road to Trust

by spiralxshock



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: M/M, Other, so i decided to write abt it, wanted to think abt how the others came to trust him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-06-15 19:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15419838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiralxshock/pseuds/spiralxshock
Summary: To say changing sides was difficult would be an understatement. Kallus had nothing and nobody, and yet he can't seem to regret defecting from the empire. It would take time, maybe a long time, but one day he hopes to call the people who helped save him his friends.





	1. Chapter 1

Kallus could feel eyes on him, coming from every direction. It was to be expected, of course, as word had quickly spread about who he was and what he did. That didn’t make it any easier. He just tried to keep his head down and not draw any more attention to himself. There was, however, one group that he always managed to run into.

 

“Ezra.” Kallus greeted softly, nodding but avoiding eye contact. Of all the people to run into alone… He’d say it could be worse but Zeb didn’t mind him, so there really wasn’t a much worse case scenario.

 

“Kallus. Guess I can't really call you ‘Agent’ anymore.”

 

“True.”

 

“Listen. You may have Zeb on your side, but don’t think that means anyone else trusts you.”

 

“I’m guessing this is you telling me you don’t.”

 

“Yeah, and I never will. You already turned traitor for the Rebels, so you might betray us too.”

 

“I won’t.”

 

“Of course you’d say that.” With that the short rebel turned and stalked off, leaving Kallus to stand there, more alone than he had ever been. But he couldn’t bring himself to regret his decision to leave. This was his home now… whether the others trusted him or not.


	2. The Cave Part 1

It was supposed to be an easy first mission. In and out, just clearing out some centipede creatures that had made a home of a base the Rebels had their eye on. Granted, it was destined to be rough from the start. Kallus had found himself sitting in the cargo bay, staying out of the way as the others worked. They knew the ship far better than he did anyways, so it wasn’t like there was much he could do even if he wanted to. Despite being a rebel now he still knew he wasn’t welcome on the Ghost.

 

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of someone sliding down the ladder. Zeb.

 

“Was wonderin’ where you got off to.”

 

“Sorry. I didn’t wan’t to be in the way.”

 

“Well you’re one of us now, so you’re gonna have to get to know the ship.”

 

Kallus gave a small laugh. “I think you’re the only one who believes that.”

 

Zeb pulled up a box and sat across from him, frowning. It wasn’t exactly a secret that the others were cold to him. Kallus rested his head in his hands.

 

“They’ll come around.” He meant well, but Zeb’s words still felt empty. “They just need to get to know you. Y’know, how we did.”

 

“Does it really have to be that extreme?”

 

Zeb laughed, and Kallus couldn’t help but grin with him.

 

“Hey, you two.” They looked up to see Sabine leaning on the railing above them. “We’re landing, so get ready.”

 

“Got it.” Zeb sighed and stood, readying his bo-rifle. Kallus followed his lead, blaster in hand by the time the others joined them and the ramp lowered.

 

————

 

It was supposed to be easy. That’s what Kallus thought to himself as he picked himself up off the dirt, unable to see his own hand in front of his face.

 

“Ezra? Are you alright?” He whispered, wary of the cave around them. The entrance into the base had already collapsed, and there was no telling how stable the rest of the tunnels

 

“Alright? Alright? I’m stuck in here with no way out, and you’re here. That’s far from alright.”

 

“There’s nothing we can do about it now.”

 

Blue light filled the tunnel. Ezra had his lightsaber pointed at Kallus’s chest. His breath hitched as he stood still, waiting for the other’s next move. One second… Three… Ten… The strike never came. Instead, the young Jedi lifted his lightsaber like a torch, glancing down the tunnel.

 

“So now what.” Ezra’s voice was quiet, more unsure than he’d ever heard it.

 

“We finish the mission. There has to be a nest, or queen, or something in here. If we can get this nest clear the base won’t have a problem for a while. Besides, we might find another way out.”

 

“Yeah. And if not... well, I guess we shouldn’t just sit here and wait for the others to dig us out.” Ezra started down the tunnel and, after drawing his blaster, Kallus followed close behind.

 

———

 

The tunnel felt like it went on forever, twisting and turning through the earth.

 

“Why’d you do it?” Ezra’s voice cut through the silence.

 

“What?”

 

“The Empire. Why’d you join.”

 

“To get away.”

 

Ezra glanced back, eyebrow raised and frowning. “From what?”

 

“My life. Coruscant. Everything.”

 

“But it’s Coruscant. If I wanted to get away from somewhere it wouldn’t be there. Maybe parents are too preoccupied but at least things are comfortable.”

 

“Not for me.”

 

Ezra stopped in his tracks and spun around, holding his lightsaber so they could see each other. “Ok, spill. You sounded way too sure of that for it to just be you drowning in self-pity. Why’d you join.”

 

“I thought you didn’t care.”

 

“I don’t. I’m just curious as to why anyone’d join up with the Empire of all things.”

 

“I...” Where to even begin? He hadn’t talked about his past, well, ever. “I grew up on the streets. Not too different from yourself, except... Well, I never knew my parents. I stole, survived, but it was always just barely enough. Then the Empire came. To the upper class it offered glory, but to us living on the street it was a lot more. Food, work, a home, stability, and a chance to finally be respected after the world looked down on us for so long. We were always the best soldiers. Did exactly what we were told. It’s why I’d never questioned anything it had done before Zeb and I talked.”

 

“So you joined the Empire for that? Despite the murder and slavery?”

 

“You say that like it’s one of the advertised points.”

 

“You’re saying you didn’t know at all?”

 

“But I should have. There were so many times I should have just questioned everything. Lasan, the people of Lothal... everything I did to people. I’ll never be able to make that up.”

 

“Yeah, I know.” The young rebel’s eyes narrowed again.

 

“Ezra...” Kallus paused a moment, trying to pick the right words. “You have every right to hate me. You all do. And I won’t go trying to make myself your friend if it’s not what you want. But I’m not going to betray you or anyone else, and I’m not going to lie about anything important either.”

 

“Ok, ok, enough with the stories. Let’s just finish this and get out.”

 

Kallus smiled a bit as the other turned away, noticing that the animosity in the other’s voice had lowered to severe discontent. He knew he shouldn’t hope, and that in the long run it likely meant nothing. But that didn’t stop the slight comfort that came with knowing wasn’t as ready to put a lightsaber through his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still a bit short, but for the longer scenarios I’ll be splitting them into parts so I can get them up a bit faster and not leave y’all waiting as long. Enjoy!


	3. The Cave Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, this took longer than I expected. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you all enjoy!

Trying to make sense of the caves was, to put it simply, exhausting. Not to mention the centipede creatures attacking them at almost every turn. But somehow they managed to keep going through the maze, trusting that if they couldn’t find an exit, the others were still working to get them out.

 

They kept moving for what seemed like hours until Ezra stopped short.

 

“What is it?” Kallus squinted, trying to see into the dark as best he could. Whatever Ezra had stopped for, he couldn’t see it.

 

“Up ahead... there’s something in there. Something... big.” With how quiet the last word was, Kallus’s stomach sank. Whatever it was it had to be more than just ‘big’.

 

“Whatever we do, it’s your call.”

 

Ezra took a breath. “Let’s get this over with.”

 

The cavern they stepped into was, much to their surprise, well lit. Its stone walls reached up to the surface and the top was, for the most part, open to the sky. It would have been beautiful, had it not been for the massive thing in the center. A centipede-like creature, easily a foot taller than Kallus and covered in thick white plating. Its black eyes stared into them as they entered, stepping around the… karabast. They were eggs. They were stepping around the hundreds of eggs, each one a future centipede creature. Well, not if they could stop it.

 

“Think it knows we’re here?” Ezra murmured.

 

“Definitely.”

 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

 

But it wasn’t attacking. Just watching as the two tried to get into a better range. Kallus was carefully moving around the ovular objects when there was a crack to his right, and he froze.

 

“Oops...” Kallus turned to Ezra, who was lifting his foot out of the goop from a smashed egg. An ungodly screech resonated from the white monster and it lunged forward, skittering towards Ezra with surprising speed. Kallus watched in horror as Ezra backed up, only for his other foot to smash through another egg and cause him to slip. The lightsaber clattered to the ground and before Ezra could grab it, the creature was on him. He had to keep his hands holding the thing’s pincers away.

Shit. The kid couldn’t grab his weapon.

 

Kallus leveled his blaster at the thing and shot twice. Aside from leaving scorch marks on the plating it did nothing, not even draw its attention. So Kallus changed his target to the eggs around him.

 

“Hey, eyes over here!” He shouted as he started shooting. That got the queen’s attention. It screeched again and moved towards him. To be honest, he hadn’t thought that far ahead, but giving the kid time was their best chance. Besides, he had an idea. A completely insane idea, but an idea.

 

Kallus holstered his blaster and braced himself, arms up to catch the pincers like Ezra had, only staying upright. It hit him hard, but somehow, by some miracle, it worked. He managed to get a hold. It didn’t even matter that he was losing ground as he was pushed backwards slowly. Ezra had time. 

 

It was enough. The creature let out a gurgle and collapsed. Kallus looked up to se Ezra grinning, standing as he removed his lightsaber from the plated head. He relaxed, taking his hands off the creature as he caught his breath. For a good minute they simply stood there, looking over the scene. Clicking echoed around them, but nothing seemed to dare approach. Ezra sat down on top of the creature, and for a moment Kallus thought he was about to say something, but his com came to life.

 

“Specter 6? Ezra? Can you hear me? Is anyone there?”

 

“Kanan! I’m here. We found the nest, and you should be able to fit the Phantom in here. Tell Specter 5 to bring as many explosives as she can.”

 

“Got it. Are you alright?”

 

“I’m fine. And let Zeb know Kallus is still here too.”

 

At that point Kallus stopped listening, opting instead to climb his way to the top of the creature and sit down, surveying the still unsettling scene. After a bit Ezra settled down next to him, but still put some space between them.

 

“Kallus?”

 

“Hm?”

 

Ezra shifted, almost uncomfortable. “Earlier. Why’d you tell me about yourself. I mean, it’s cool you did. But you didn’t have to.”

“I…” Kallus blinked, not entirely sure how to answer. “Well, I mean… You asked.”

 

“But that doesn’t mean you had to tell me anything. You know what? Just… just forget it.”

 

They both fell silent, Kallus turning the question over in his head. Why had he answered the young Jedi’s question?

 

“I think it was because you were the first person who ever actually asked.”

 

“What?”

 

“You wanted to know why I told you all that. You were the first person to ever ask, so I guess… I guess I thought you actually wanted to know.”

 

The two fell back into an uncomfortable silence as they waited, keeping an eye on the cracked earth above them for the Phantom.


	4. The Cave Part 3

It felt like an eternity of waiting in silence broken only by the occasional clicking of centipede creatures before the Phantom finally descended into the cavern. Kallus stayed where he was while Ezra hopped off the creature’s back and jogged carefully over to where they had landed in a mess of goop and eggshell. From the looks of things Sabine was more than willing to blow the place, if her speed in placing the detonators was any indication. 

 

“You alright? I was callin’ you but you didn’ hear.”

 

Kallus blinked, not having realized Zeb had come over to him.

 

“I… yes. Sorry, I sort of spaced out for a minute there.” Kallus slid down off the back of the creature to stand next to the Lasat. “Is it time to go?”

 

“Just about.”

 

He nodded, following the other silently to the ship. It was small, but Kallus had a feeling something was… different. Not my much, but still enough to put him at ease. Maybe it was the fact this mission, his first as part of the rebels, had gone right in the end. Maybe it was how when they got on the phantom to leave Ezra just sort of… glanced back at him, and made no attempt to move away as before. Or perhaps it was both. It gave him a bit of hope. Hope that maybe someday things wouldn’t be so bad.

 

He looked out the front window with everyone else as the Phantom turned around, watching as the crack in the earth lit up with color and smoke. Kallus smiled a bit. It may have been a sight he knew well, but from this side, seeing it with them, he’d never seen anything more beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short one to finish up this section of the adventure! My plan is for Hera to have a section next, either as its own whole part or just as an interlude depending on who you all would like to see have an adventure with Kallus next. There probably won't be another extreme scenatio like this for a bit, but the small things are just as important.


	5. Hera Interlude 1

Kallus lay in bed, unable to sleep and listening to the sounds of the ship and Zeb’s snoring. It wasn’t that he didn’t like sharing a room with the other, Zeb had been very considerate in letting him take the bottom bunk when Ezra got his own room. It was just that he was, well, bored. In the Empire he could do reports until he was ready to collapse, but here? He wasn’t used to not having a million things to do. There had to be something around the ship.

 

Quietly, he got out of bed and went into the hall, hoping the door wouldn’t wake anyone. He wandered the ship, looking at Sabine’s hidden art pieces as he went into the living area and then the kitchen, where he couldn’t help but gag. Someone had been letting the dishes pile up and fester in the sink, so he figured that was on either Zeb or Ezra. Surely Hera wouldn’t just let it go like that, right? Either way something to do was something to do, and at this point he wasn’t about to be picky. Kallus draped his jacket over the kitchen chair and got to work.

 

“Kind of late to be doing dishes.”

 

Kallus nearly dropped the plate he was washing, barely managing to catch it and set it in the sink gently before turning. Hera stood in the doorway, leaning on the frame.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

 

“You didn’t, Chopper did. But I’m going to have to tell him that washing dishes doesn’t equal you being ‘up to something.’”

 

She moved to sit at the table, and Kallus could feel her eyes on his back as he finished with the last few dishes. It was uncomfortable silence. He couldn’t help but feel like maybe he shouldn’t have looked for something to do, that she wouldn’t be too happy with him just messing with things. When he finished putting the las one away he turned back to where Hera sat.

 

“Sit down for a bit, doesn’t seem like either of us are tired at the moment and we may as well enjoy the peace.” She gestured to the seat across from her, and Kallus sat, not sure he had much choice. “How’ve you been holding up?”

 

“I...” He tried to think of something to say. Honesty probably wasn’t great, but sugar coating it would be too obvious. There had to be a middle ground. “I’ve been alright. Overall things are pretty good.”

 

She raised an eyebrow. “I hope you don’t expect me to believe that.”

 

“Its true. Mostly. I mean, given what I’ve done in the past I really can’t complain. Besides, it could be worse. I could have ended up just another dead imperial.”

 

Hera laughed a bit at that. “You’re not like the other Imperials.”

 

Kallus was a bit taken aback by the statement. Sure he had been a higher rank, but even then he had completely bought in to their regime. He had done such awful things, same as anyone else in the empire.

 

“I don’t see how...”

 

“If you were like them you wouldn’t be sitting here. It takes a lot to change, especially when you came with no guarantee of anything. I know not everyone’s glad you’re here, I know I’m still having a hard time sometimes, but in time I think it’ll get better.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Just between you and me, I’m not sure about anything. Not these days. But I can hope for the best, and this is something I really do hope turns out alright.”

 

Kallus gave her a soft smile. She was willing to open her ship, her home, to him and give him a chance. That alone was more than he could have ever asked for.

 

“Thank you. I owe you all so much.”

 

Hera smiled, and they fell into silence for a time before she spoke.

 

“You should try to get some sleep.” Kallus nodded, getting up and walking towards the door. “Oh, and Kallus?”

 

“Yes?”

“Thanks for doing the dishes.”

 

Kallus gave a nod before going back to Zeb’s room. For the first time in a while he felt like he belonged somewhere, and as he lay down he easily fell into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late night mom talks! I'll definitely have more of these so if there's anything you want to suggest, I can't promise anything but I'll definitely consider it. (also, two parts in one day? holy cow!) Sabine will be next most likely. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> (my tumblr for star wars is @dominoxsquad so if you want to chat about this or rebels/clone wars in general feel free to hit me up on there)


	6. Hobby Hunt Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that I have like... time and motivation, I'm back at it again. Some parts'll be longer than others but I'll try to be somewhat consistent.

Kallus sat in the hangar, thankful for the warm air coming through the open hangar doors. He should have been reviewing the reports, but found himself instead staring out over the planet’s surface.

 

“Hard at work?”

 

He looked up as Sabine sat next to him, squinting out over where he had been staring at before shrugging and leaning back.

 

“I was looking over reports but I think I may have gotten distracted.”

 

“More reports? Don’t you have anything else to do besides reports?”

 

“Well it’s not _just_ reports. There are mission briefs, planet overviews, imperial troop movements…”

 

“I mean like, a hobby. What do you do for fun?”

 

“I… I don’t really have anything else.”

 

“Karabast, I know I don’t really like you but honestly? That’s just sad.”

 

She stood up, gesturing for him to follow.

 

“C’mon, we’ve got time before we’re going to be needed for anything. So I’m gonna find you a hobby if it kills us.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! A short little introduction before getting into the meat, but I thought that there was so much we could have seen for the Ghost crew coming to trust Kallus and decided to write about it myself. Comments and suggestions are appreciated, for both how to write better and potential scenarios you'd like to see.


End file.
